Interactive Web Based Map Advice

ridingthepine

Posted 10 June 2011 - 09:05 AM

ridingthepine

Newbie

Validated Member

3 posts

No Country Selected

I've browsed this site for a few months now, but have never posted, so hopefully this is in the right area.

I've got a fellowship doing GIS with an urban renewal project, and one of the tasks they would like me to try an complete is to create an interactive web-based map that would allow people to enter their address and find the projects that are underway or proposed near them. Through undergrad and now in grad school i've had plenty of experience with ArcGIS software, have used open street map, and google earth. Unfortunately I haven't taken any courses on programming.

I was hoping some of you fine folks might have a good idea about how I could accomplish this. I don't know if Google Maps API would allow a interactive map like this to be built, or if there is another program/way that I could go about putting something like this together. I have all the data I need, and all the resources, but just need a push in the right direction for getting it put together.

Matthew Hampton

Posted 10 June 2011 - 11:38 AM

Matthew Hampton

Hall of Fame

Moderator

1,408 posts

Gender:Male

Location:Portland, Oregon

Interests:Playing in the mountains and rivers.

United States

Hello and welcome to Cartotalk.

I've worked on projects similar to this in the past and can offer some information on the choices we have made. There are many options available, however within the spectrum of complexity, I am assuming you might be looking for something simple. If you want folks to be able to input an address you'll need a geocoding service. The Google Maps API provides a free geocoding service that works pretty decently - however there are others out there (and you could always build your own).

Based on the Google API, one lightweight solution would be to have folks input an address, and you then zoom to that location. You would create a KML of all the projects (categorized by completed, proposed, in progress, etc.) and the user would then see on the map the different projects in that area. Within the KML you can easily add project specific content that the user can access by clicking on the KML feature. If you haven't done much programming - KML provides a nice start, however you will need to invest some time in learning the Google API (fortunately there is good documentation).

There are other solutions that create a different experience - the one above is more directed for browsing different projects in an area.

ridingthepine

Posted 10 June 2011 - 01:11 PM

ridingthepine

Newbie

Validated Member

3 posts

No Country Selected

Hello and welcome to Cartotalk.

I've worked on projects similar to this in the past and can offer some information on the choices we have made. There are many options available, however within the spectrum of complexity, I am assuming you might be looking for something simple. If you want folks to be able to input an address you'll need a geocoding service. The Google Maps API provides a free geocoding service that works pretty decently - however there are others out there (and you could always build your own).

Based on the Google API, one lightweight solution would be to have folks input an address, and you then zoom to that location. You would create a KML of all the projects (categorized by completed, proposed, in progress, etc.) and the user would then see on the map the different projects in that area. Within the KML you can easily add project specific content that the user can access by clicking on the KML feature. If you haven't done much programming - KML provides a nice start, however you will need to invest some time in learning the Google API (fortunately there is good documentation).

There are other solutions that create a different experience - the one above is more directed for browsing different projects in an area.

This is great. Thanks.

I assumed Google would offer the best option to complete the project. I'll try to find some documentation on learning Google API. I've used.kml files in the past for various projects, and can easily make files of the completed, proposed and ongoing projects, so hopefully I can figure out how to do the rest of the steps.

dsl

Posted 10 June 2011 - 02:11 PM

dsl

Master Contributor

Validated Member

225 posts

Gender:Male

Location:Denver

United States

If you don't already have a database that you are working with, I would recommend uploading your data to a Google Fusion Table. You can set up your columns to store a location either as an address or a KML string. I've become quite hooked on the power of Fusion tables. Once this is complete, you can create a Google Map in Javascript and use the fusion table as a layer. At this point with only a little bit of code you've got all your data on an interactive map. You can use javascript to reverse geocde an input address as suggested above using the Google Geocoding API. Once you have the latitude and longitude of the user's address you can use this to search for projects by querying your fusion table. Fusion tables support basic spatial queries.

Now the only flaw in this method is you need to have your data be public (anyone can view/query the table, but not edit it). Unless you have a webserver that can query the data and pass it to your map for you.

ridingthepine

Posted 13 June 2011 - 01:04 PM

ridingthepine

Newbie

Validated Member

3 posts

No Country Selected

If you don't already have a database that you are working with, I would recommend uploading your data to a Google Fusion Table. You can set up your columns to store a location either as an address or a KML string. I've become quite hooked on the power of Fusion tables. Once this is complete, you can create a Google Map in Javascript and use the fusion table as a layer. At this point with only a little bit of code you've got all your data on an interactive map. You can use javascript to reverse geocde an input address as suggested above using the Google Geocoding API. Once you have the latitude and longitude of the user's address you can use this to search for projects by querying your fusion table. Fusion tables support basic spatial queries.

Now the only flaw in this method is you need to have your data be public (anyone can view/query the table, but not edit it). Unless you have a webserver that can query the data and pass it to your map for you.

MitsyLovely

Posted 04 November 2011 - 10:47 AM

MitsyLovely

Newbie

Validated Member

2 posts

United States

I've browsed this site for a few months now, but have never posted, so hopefully this is in the right area.

I've got a fellowship doing GIS with an urban renewal project, and one of the tasks they would like me to try an complete is to create an interactive web-based map that would allow people to enter their address and find the projects that are underway or proposed near them. Through undergrad and now in grad school i've had plenty of experience with ArcGIS software, have used open street map, and google earth. Unfortunately I haven't taken any courses on programming.

I was hoping some of you fine folks might have a good idea about how I could accomplish this. I don't know if Google Maps API would allow a interactive map like this to be built, or if there is another program/way that I could go about putting something like this together. I have all the data I need, and all the resources, but just need a push in the right direction for getting it put together.

Thanks!

First off, I want to sincerely apologize for posting on this thread so late. I've been a pretty consistent browser as of late, but I've been really curious about this project. As someone who's interested in urban planning (I've been applying to various companies), I'm sincerely intrigued at the prospect of an interactive & customizable map program that shows you what urban projects are being proposed for one's particular area. The concept, in itself, is pretty amazing! How is this project coming along? I'd love to hear more about it!

Either way, I hope that I didn't put a damper on anyone's day by positing this old of a thread. I promise that I'll post in newer threads from here on out.

Take care, folks. Glad to be here!

MitsyAll the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.Henry EllisI want to find land for sale so I can build the perfect property!

AnnaRiling

Posted 27 June 2012 - 11:40 AM

AnnaRiling

Newbie

New Member

2 posts

United States

I am currently obtaining a grad certificate in GIS from the University of Denver. I'm starting an internship this summer for a local nonprofit that advocates for the responsible use of our area's natural resources. They would like me to create a map similar to the one that you're doing, but quite a bit simpler and without the ability to input addresses. Ideally it will be a map of the region in which the nonprofit works (Four Corners area near SW Colorado/NW New Mexico) with ongoing and past projects located on it. Clicking on these project locations will open a link in a new tab to that project's site. I would like to use ArcGIS v. 10 for this project, but to be honest I am quite new to this and I'm not sure where to begin! Any advice would be welcome.